KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The tennis courts at Forsyth Park are now closed as preliminary work to renovate them started this week, a city official said.

Kevin Gilfeather, the city’s superintendent of the parks and recreation, said the courts will be closed until June 26. Gilfeather says he’s hopeful that all the work planned at the Ron Woods Tennis Complex will be completed by that date.

This week, crews from the city Department of Public Works and Parks and Recreation Department began removing fencing at the site, Gilfeather said. As part of the project, new fencing will be installed around the tournament court, one of two at the complex, he said.

Five years ago, Ron Woods, a member of the city Parks and Recreation Commission, donated $20,000 to help fund the refurbishment of the tennis courts, which in 1981 were named the Ron Woods Tennis Complex in recognition of the Kingston resident’s advocacy of the sport.

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Woods has called the current condition of the courts an embarrassment and a disgrace.

Mayor Steve Noble on Thursday welcomed the preparations for the project.

“I’m excited to get this project moving and overhaul the tennis courts, which, as we know, are in serious disrepair,” Noble said. “With prep work already started and the main project to begin in May, I am pleased that we will be prepared to reopen the tennis courts at the beginning of the tennis season and just in time for our youth participating in our Summer Parks Program.”

Earlier this month, Gilfeather said that a significant portion of the overhaul was expected to start in May. Gilfeather said the department hoped to receive proposals for the work by a May 3 deadline.

“When you are dealing with some of the issues of a grant and contract specifications, it takes longer,” Gilfeather has said. “We are just happy now where it is finally at the point where it is going to happen.”

In addition to Woods’ donation, the city has received $150,000 in state funding to put toward the rehabilitation of the courts, Gilfeather said. Even so, it’s is unclear whether that will be enough to finish the job. That won’t be known until bid proposals are submitted, he said.

Kingston engineering consultant Dennis Larios is drawing up design specifications for a request for proposals from prospective contractors.

The major work will include the repair of cracks, a new asphalt playing surface, and striping.

Woods said the courts were first built in the early 1920s and were last overhauled in 1971.

About the Author

Paul Kirby is a reporter for the Freeman, covering Kingston politics. He has been at the Freeman since August 1996. Reach the author at pkirby@freemanonline.com
or follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulatFreeman.